noun
depression
dih-PRESH-uhn/dɪˈpreʃn/
A sustained lowering of mood or activity.
Her depression makes even familiar daily tasks feel unusually difficult.
Etymology
Pressing down supplies the image behind a sinking of the spirits. The word's established sense of sadness or dejection was later adopted as a clinical term for the mental health condition.
In context
someone's dealing with a lot of depression or loss or grief or maybe they're going through a divorce
More examples
- A sense of depression settles over him after the move.
- Treatment helps her manage her depression and enjoy life again.
- Economic depressions often bring widespread unemployment and business closures.
Forms
depression · depressions
depress verb — To lower someone's mood or reduce activity.
depressive adjective — Relating to depression or its symptoms.
Similar words
- sadness
- Describes unhappiness without necessarily lasting long or impairing daily life.
- despondency
- Emphasizes deep discouragement and loss of hope, not economic decline.
- recession
- Names an economic decline generally less severe than a depression.